The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
By Nicola Corless
EARTHQUAKES close to Ireland and around the world will now be registered at a second-level school in South Galway.
A seismometer was recently donated to Seamount College in Kinvara and was unveiled last week in the newly built science laboratory.
“The seismometer was donated to us by Kevin Cullen, who is the uncle of one of our teachers here. Ruth Cullen is a geography and Irish teacher and is from Ennis. Her uncle Kevin had the seismometer and it wasn’t in use so he donated it to the school,” explained Maighread Mhic Dhomhnaill, principal of Seamount College.
“It is a fantastic addition to the school. As a former geography teacher I am very excited about having a seismometer in the school and it brings the subject very much alive to the students. It won’t just pick up earthquakes off the Irish coast, it will also pick up earthquakes taking place worldwide and will record these on the computer. It is not in use just yet but we are hoping to have someone come to the school in May to calibrate it and connect it to the national system,” she added.
The plinth, on which the seismometer stands, was donated by a local family.
“We are very lucky as the plinth was donated to us by the McCormack family of Irish Natural Stone. The family have a strong link with Seamount College. They currently have a daughter attending the school and other family members have also attended. We are so delighted with the seismometer and the plinth and our new science room provides the perfect setting for a new scientific instrument,” Ms Mhic Dhomhnaill continued.
The seismometer was unveiled by Minister of State for Training and Skills at the Department of Education, Ciaran Cannon. Minister Cannon, when hMo was at the school to officially open its new extension.
